Richard H. Cracroft facts for kids
Richard Holton Cracroft (born June 28, 1936 – died September 20, 2012) was a well-known author and English professor. He taught at Brigham Young University (BYU) for many years. At BYU, he was a special professor of English. He also led the English department and was the dean of the College of Humanities.
Professor Cracroft helped lead the American Studies Program at BYU. He also directed the Center for the Study of Christian Values in Literature. He was famous for editing a very important book called A Believing People. This book was a big deal for Mormon letters, which is literature written by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
He was very dedicated to this field. His ideas about Mormon literature were shared in a speech he gave. He also wrote a popular column called "Book Nook" in BYU Magazine. This column showed many people how wide and interesting Mormon literature could be.
Early Life and Education
As a young man, Richard Cracroft served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served in Switzerland and Austria.
He studied English at the University of Utah. He earned his first degree in 1961 and his master's degree in 1963. Later, he earned his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1970.
Contributions to Literature
Richard Cracroft helped edit A Believing People with Neal Lambert. This book was a collection of writings by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
He was also the president of the Association for Mormon Letters. He received a special award for his lifelong contributions to Mormon letters in 2011.
Cracroft wrote many essays and reviews about literature. He also wrote a short story called That My Soul Might See. He wrote or edited 13 books. Three of these books were about the lives of authors from the American West.
He helped organize several conferences about literature and faith. One conference was called Spiritual Frontiers: Beliefs and Values in the Literary West. He also wrote about how Europeans viewed the American West in the 1800s. He was one of the first editors of a magazine called Literature and Belief.
Church Service
Richard Cracroft was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served in many important roles in the Church. He was a bishop and a stake president.
He also served as a mission president in the Switzerland Zurich Mission. He led this mission from 1986 to 1989.
Family Life
Richard Cracroft was married to Janice Alger. They had three children together.
